Burglary


Burglary, also called breaking and entering or housebreaking, is a property crime involving the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, larceny, robbery, or murder, but most jurisdictions include others within the ambit of burglary. To commit burglary is to burgle, a term back-formed from the word burglar, or to burglarize.

Etymology

explained at the start of Chapter 14 in the third part of Institutes of the Lawes of England, that the word Burglar, is derived from the words burgh and laron, meaning house-thieves. A note indicates he relied on the Brooke's case for this definition.
According to one textbook, the etymology originates from Anglo-Saxon or Old English, one of the Germanic languages. "The word burglar comes from the two German words burg, meaning "house", and laron, meaning "thief"."
Another suggested etymology is from the later Latin word burgare, "to break open" or "to commit burglary", from burgus, meaning "fortress" or "castle", with the word then passing through French and Middle English, with influence from the Latin latro, "thief". The British verb "burgle" is a late back-formation.

History

Ancient references to breaking into a house can be found in the Code of Hammurabi and the Torah.
Sir Edward Coke, in chapter 14 of the third part of the Institutes of the Lawes of England, describes the felony of Burglary and explains the various elements of the offence. He distinguished this from housebreaking because the night aggravated the offence since the night time was when man was at rest. He also described the night as the time when the countenance of a man could not be discerned.
In Pleas of the Crown. A Methodical Summary, Sir Matthew Hale classifies Burglary and Arson as offences "against the dwelling or habitation".
File:Fiquefleur-Equainville burglary.jpg|thumb|Romanced depiction of the Fiquefleur burglary by the illegalist Ortiz gang, Chiericotti, Ortiz and Henry in Le Petit Parisien
In chapter 16 of the fourth book of the Commentaries on the Laws of England, Sir William Blackstone observes that Burglary "... has always been looked on as a very heinous offence: not only because of the abundant terror that it naturally carries with it, but also as it is a forcible invasion of that right of habitation..."
During the 19th Century, English politicians turned their minds to codifying English law. In 1826, Sir Robert Peel was able to achieve some long advocated reforms by codifying offences concerning larceny and other property offences as well as offences against the person. Further reforms followed in 1861. Colonial legislatures generally adopted the English reforms. However, while further Criminal Code reforms failed to progress through the English parliament during the 1880s, other colonies, including Canada, India, New Zealand and various Australian states codified their criminal law.

Common-law definition

At common law, burglary was defined by Sir Matthew Hale as:
  1. Breaking can be either actual, such as by forcing open a door, or constructive, such as by fraud or threats. Breaking does not require that anything be "broken" in terms of physical damage occurring. A person who has permission to enter part of a house, but not another part, commits a breaking and entering when they use any means to enter a room where they are not permitted, so long as the room was not open to enter.
  2. Entering can involve either physical entry by a person, or the insertion of an instrument to remove property. Insertion of a tool to gain entry may not constitute entering by itself. There must be a breaking and an entering for common-law burglary. Breaking without entry or entry without breaking is not sufficient for common-law burglary.
  3. Although rarely listed as an element, the common law required that "entry occur as a consequence of the breaking". For example, if wrongdoers partially open a window with a pry bar—but then notice an open door, which they use to enter the dwelling instead, there is no burglary under common law. The use of the pry bar would not constitute an entry even if a portion of the prybar "entered" the residence. Under the instrumentality rule the use of an instrument to effect a breaking would not constitute an entry. However, if any part of the perpetrator's body entered the residence in an attempt to gain entry, the instrumentality rule did not apply. Thus, if the perpetrators used the prybar to pry open the window and then used their hands to lift the partially opened window, an "entry" would have taken place when they grasped the bottom of the window with their hands.
  4. House includes a temporarily unoccupied dwelling, but not a building used only occasionally as a habitation.
  5. Night time is defined as hours between half an hour after sunset and half an hour before sunrise.
  6. Typically this element is expressed as the intent to commit a felony "therein". The use of the word "therein" adds nothing and certainly does not limit the scope of burglary to those wrongdoers who break and enter a dwelling intending to commit a felony on the premises. The situs of the felony does not matter, and burglary occurs if the wrongdoers intended to commit a felony at the time they broke and entered.
The common-law elements of burglary often vary between jurisdictions. The common-law definition has been expanded in most jurisdictions, such that the building need not be a dwelling or even a building in the conventional sense, physical breaking is not necessary, the entry does not need to occur at night, and the intent may be to commit any felony or theft.

Canada

In Canada, breaking is prohibited by section 348 of the Criminal Code. It is an indictable offense when committed in residence, and otherwise a hybrid offense. Breaking and Entering is defined as breaking into a place with intent to commit another indictable offense. The crime is commonly referred to in Canada as breaking and entering, which in turn is often shortened to B and E.

Finland

There is no crime of burglary as such in Finland. In the case of breaking and entering, the Finnish penal code states that
However, if theft is committed during unlawful entering, then a person is guilty of theft or aggravated theft depending on the circumstances of the felony.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, burglary is a statute offence under section 231 of the Crimes Act 1961. Originally this was a codification of the common law offence, though from October 2004 the break element was removed from the definition and entry into the building, or a part of it, now only needed to be unauthorised. The definition of a building is very broad to cover all forms of dwelling, including an enclosed yard. Unauthorised entry onto agricultural land with intent to commit an imprisonable offence was added in March 2019 as a burglary type offence.

Sweden

In Sweden, burglary does not exist as an offence in itself; instead, there are two available offences. If a person simply breaks into any premise, they are technically guilty of either unlawful intrusion or breach of domiciliary peace, depending on the premise in question. Breach of domiciliary peace is applicable only when people "unlawfully intrude or remain where others have their living quarters". The only punishments available for any of these offences are fines, unless the offences are considered gross. In such cases, the maximum punishment is two years' imprisonment.
However, if the person who has forced themself into a house steals anything, they are guilty of theft. However, the section regarding gross theft states "in assessing whether the crime is gross, special consideration shall be given to whether the unlawful appropriation took place after intrusion into a dwelling." For theft, the punishment is imprisonment of at most two years, while gross theft carries a punishment of between six months and six years.

United Kingdom

England and Wales

Burglary is defined by section 9 of the Theft Act 1968, which describes two variants:
  1. A person is guilty of burglary if they enter any building or part of a building as a trespasser with intent to steal, inflict grievous bodily harm or do unlawful damage to the building or anything in it.
  2. A person is guilty of burglary if, having entered a building or part of a building as a trespasser, they steal or attempt to steal anything in the building, or inflict or attempt to inflict grievous bodily harm on any person in the building.

    Northern Ireland

The offence is defined in similar terms to England and Wales by the Theft Act 1969.

Scotland

Under Scots law, the crime of burglary does not exist. Instead theft by housebreaking covers theft where the security of the building is overcome. It does not include any other aspect of burglary found in England and Wales. It is a crime usually prosecuted under solemn procedure in a superior court. Another common law crime still used is Hamesuken, which covers forced entry into a building where a serious assault on the occupant takes place. Common law crimes in Scotland are gradually being replaced by statutes.

United States

In the United States, burglary is prosecuted as a felony or misdemeanor and involves trespassing and theft, entering a building or automobile, or loitering unlawfully with intent to commit any crime, not necessarily a theft – for example, vandalism. Even if nothing is stolen in a burglary, the act is a statutory offense. Buildings can include hangars, sheds, barns, and coops; burglary of boats, aircraft, trucks, military equipment, and railway cars is possible. Burglary may be an element in crimes involving rape, arson, kidnapping, identity theft, or violation of civil rights; indeed, the "plumbers" of the Watergate scandal were technically burglars. Any entry into the building or automobile of another with the intent to commit a crime, even if the entry would otherwise be permitted for lawful purposes, may constitute burglary on the theory that the permission to enter is only extended for lawful purposes. As with all legal definitions in the U.S., the foregoing description may not be applicable in every jurisdiction, since there are 50 separate state criminal codes, plus federal and territorial codes in force.